Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).
Invitation to Prayer ... Wednesday
Hi Friends,
If you're in Midland this week, we'll be meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8, for prayer. We meet in the prayer closet at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Please join us in lifting up the needs of vulnerable children in our community and around the world!
Blessings,
Carrie
Dear Intercessors:
I wrote this last week, as Cyclone Fannie was taking aim at Bangladesh. This week I've had trouble finding any updates about the impact of the storm, but I'm sure its still a good time to pray for those who are dealing with the after-effects of the storm in India and Bangladesh. If God leads you to do so, you're also able to help provide shelter through Partners Relief and Development.
Even the palm trees looked tired and weary, struggling to hold on... they seemed fitting sentries for the entrance to the neighborhood tucked into the thin stretch of a beach on Bangladesh's western shore. I stood there last fall. Behind me, ramshackle shacks lined the beach, cobbled together with rusty tin and recycled UNHCR rice bags and thatched bamboo, just as tired and weary and struggling to hold on as the trees stretched along the shore and the people tucked inside. We could only get into the neighborhood when tide was low... when the water rose, the spit of land was marooned from the other parts of town.
I remember thinking, "It literally doesn't get much more backwater than this." It was land no one else wanted, deemed un-useful and uninhabitable by anyone with the resources to choose otherwise. But it was home to a community of impoverished fishermen and their families and Rohingya refugees who had managed to slip out of the nearby camps. I kicked at the sand and turned up a fragile seashell. I picked it up and put it in my backpack.
It occurred to me, standing on that shore, just how disastrous it would be if this village were ever in the path of a cyclone. On a good day, with just the normal ebb and flow of tides, the streets of the village flood. But on a bad day? There is no higher ground. There is no safe shelter. There is no escape route or emergency services or resources to get away. Bamboo and tin and rice bags do little in the face of 120mph winds. And today... right now... this same stretch of land is in the path of Cyclone Fannie.
These girls are probably there right now. Sitting ducks. Last fall they reminded me of my girls, so I took their picture... They still remind me of my girls, and today I've had a hard time making sense of a world where we can be so close in some senses, and so far away in others. Because that fragile little seashell that came all the way back to Texas with me from their Bengali beach is probably safer than they are today. I don't know their names or anything about them, but I pray God shields them from the storm. I guess I just wanted to ask you to join me in doing the same.
All the best,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
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